HUNTSVILLE, AL -- In 1988, Ricky Esneault had a sick dog and was driving to see his regular veterinarian when he noticed another animal clinic off the side of the road -- Animal Care Clinic & Hospital.

Maybe it was karma. Maybe it was fate. Whatever the reason, he decided to take his dog there and see Dr. Susan Muller, who had been running the clinic since 1985.

"Susan was just crazy about my dog," Esneault recalls. "I couldn't believe how crazy she was for my dog, so I just kept bringing it there. I realized she was for real."

Twenty-one years later, Esneault is still taking his pets to Muller. And she's still for real. She's also taking pretty good care of Esneault.

Esneault and Muller got married in 1989. They've raised two kids, Alexis and Ricky, and a houseful of critters, including Perl (standard poodle), Jazz (Havanese), Olive (Havanese), Rosey (teacup poodle), and Francis and Nip (tabby cats).

"She was so crazy about dogs and pets, I figured she'd also make a good mother," Esneault said.

Esneault is one of many happy customers who voted for Muller, who now goes by Dr. Susan Muller Esneault, as best veterinarian in The Times' Readers Choice Poll.

Muller heads the Animal Care Clinic that also includes Drs. Melissa Horne, Stephanie Vaught and Kevin Anderson. Muller and her staff takes care of everything from dogs and cats to birds, ferrets, guinea pigs and even a 53-year-old turtle named Rocky.

"We have a great crew of four veterinarians," Muller Esneault said. "We all work well together, and we work seven days at week. I know that helps, too."

Muller Esneault, a 1974 graduate of Grissom High School and '83 grad of Auburn's School of Veterinary Medicine, practiced first in Tampa, Fla., and then Atlanta before coming home and opening her clinic in Huntsville in 1985. She also has two pet advice sites, critterology.com and ismypetfly.com.

"I've always loved animals since I was a kid," Muller Esneault said. "Dr. Cole, who was on Governors Drive, inspired me. We used to go to him, and I kind of thought of him more as a mentor growing up.

"It's not a job, it's a profession. You have to like what you're doing or love what you're doing, or you shouldn't be doing it. Truthfully, you couldn't do all the hours and demands placed on you if you didn't love it."

Speaking of love, the Esneaults also have a touching love story. Muller Esneault said that she and her husband have made a great team for 21 years, and that team is facing one of its toughest opponents -- cancer. Esneault found out 2 1/2 weeks ago that he has prostrate cancer; he'll have surgery in Birmingham on Nov. 23.

It was a tough diagnosis to hear, but Esneault, 55, said he used The Best contest to focus on something other than the cancer. He called hundreds of clients, sent out e-mails and gave them information at the office to send in.

"It gave me something other than myself to worry about," Esneault said. "I told Susan, 'I knew you were the best vet in Huntsville.